View source for Lake Wendouree

{{Short description|Lake near the suburb of Ballarat, Victoria, Australia}}
{{for|the Ballarat suburb of the same name|Lake Wendouree, Victoria}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox body of water
| name               = Lake Wendouree
| image              = Lake wendouree (1).jpg
| image_size         = 250
| caption            = The lake pictured in 2006, looking towards central [[Ballarat]] and beyond to [[Mount Warrenheip]]
| image_bathymetry   = 
| caption_bathymetry = 
| location           = [[Ballarat, Victoria]]
| pushpin_map        = Australia Victoria
| pushpin_relief     = 1
| pushpin_label_position = left
| pushpin_map_alt    = 
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]]
| coor_pinpoint      = 
| coordinates_footnotes = <ref name=vicnames>{{cite web|url=https://services.land.vic.gov.au/vicnames/place.html?method=edit&id=8528|title=Lake Wendouree (lake)|work=Vicnames|publisher=[[Government of Victoria (Australia)|Government of Victoria]]|date=2 May 1966|access-date=4 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140606234759/https://services.land.vic.gov.au/vicnames/place.html?method=edit&id=8528|archive-date=6 June 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| coords             = {{coord|37|33|02|S|143|50|00|E|region:AU-VIC|display=inline,title}}
| type               = [[artificial lake|Artificial]]
| inflow             = Gong Gong Reservoir; ''various ''
| outflow            = Gnarr Creek outlet; ''evaporation''
| catchment          = 
| basin_countries    = Australia
| length             = {{convert|2|km|abbr=on}}
| width              = {{convert|1.4|km|abbr=on}}
| area               = {{convert|2.38|km2|abbr=on}}
| depth              = {{convert|2|m|abbr=on}}
| max-depth          = 
| volume             = {{convert|3860|ML|impgal USgal|abbr=on}}
| residence_time     = 
| shore              = {{convert|6|km|abbr=on}}
| elevation          = {{convert|453|m|abbr=on}}
| islands            = 
| cities             = Ballarat
}}
'''Lake Wendouree''' ({{IPAc-en|,|w|ɛ|n|d|ə|'|r|i:}}) is an [[artificial lake|artificially]] created and maintained shallow urban [[lake]] located adjacent to the [[Lake Wendouree, Victoria|suburb of the same name]] in the city of [[Ballarat, Victoria]], Australia.  The name Wendouree comes from a local [[Australian Aborigine|Aboriginal]] word ''wendaaree'' which means 'go away': a story is told that when settler [[William Cross Yuille]] asked a local [[Indigenous Australian|Indigenous]] woman what the name of the swamp was, that was her reply.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Perkins |first1=Miki |title=Mourning Australia Day on the banks of Lake 'Go Away' |url=https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/mourning-australia-day-on-the-banks-of-lake-go-away-20200122-p53tt9.html |work=The Age |date=24 January 2020 |language=en}}</ref>

==Location and features==
Lake Wendouree is one of the smallest of a complex of natural [[wetland]]s which includes nearby [[Lake Burrumbeet]] and [[Lake Learmonth]] on the plains of the [[Central Highlands (Victoria)|Central Highlands]]. The swamp was [[dam]]med following the [[Victorian gold rush]] in 1851 and since the 1860s it has been a popular recreational lake for Ballarat's citizens.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ballarat.com/lake.htm |title=Lake Wendouree |access-date=2008-04-04 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080422000812/http://www.ballarat.com/lake.htm |archive-date=2008-04-22 }}</ref> Lake Wendouree now holds significant historical, environmental, and recreational values to the Ballarat community. The lake hosted the [[Rowing at the 1956 Summer Olympics|rowing]] and [[Canoeing at the 1956 Summer Olympics|canoeing]] events during the [[1956 Summer Olympics|1956 Olympic Games]].

During its history, the shallow lake has dried up during [[Drought in Australia|drought]] conditions, the most recent an extended period between 2006 and 2011.

== History ==
[[File:Sailing lake wendouree 1905.jpg|thumb|Sailing boats on the lake in 1905.]]
In ancient times Lake Wendouree was originally a stream which flowed to the west but a [[lava]] flow caused it to be dammed on three sides and it now drains to the east, eventually into the [[Yarrowee River]].{{citation needed|date=June 2014}} The swamp was known to Europeans as "Black Swamp" due to its dense dark reeds.  It was later known as "Yuille's Swamp" after William Cross Yuille who settled just south of it. When Ballarat was first surveyed in 1851 by [[William Swan Urquhart]], the swamp was recorded as Wendouree and the misunderstood Aboriginal word became the official name. 

Renowned fly-fishing author [[Alfred Ronalds]] established Ballarat's first garden nursery in 1854 at the outlet stream that flowed from the swamp and irrigated it from this creek. He also built large tanks there and [[Water supply|provided water]] for the town.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ronalds |first=B.F. |title=Alfred Ronalds: Angler, Artisan and Australian Pioneer |publisher=Medlar Press |year=2022}}</ref> Plans to dam the outlet began as early as the first surveying and the bank was raised and a pipeline was installed in 1858 to supply the burgeoning gold rush settlement. A [[corroboree]] was observed at the Wendouree Swamp in March 1857 by a Ballarat Times reporter.<ref>{{cite book |title=Life After Gold: Twentieth-Century Ballarat  |last=Bate |first=Weston |year=1993 |publisher= Melbourne University Press |isbn=0-522-84475-8 }}</ref>

In 1864 a rowing course was first cut through the reedy swamp and the first steamboats arrived. In 1869 a severe drought caused the lake to dry up completely<ref>{{cite book |page=75|title=Ballarat - A Guide to Buildings and Areas 1851-1940|year=1981|publisher=City of Ballarat}}</ref> however the water returned the following year and the boats returned. Within a decade it had become the recreational focus of Ballarat, a popular destination and by the 1880s dozens of paddle steamers, ferries, yachts and rowers were using the lake's waters and newly built boat sheds and the establishment of Victorian era gardens around its banks.

Lake Wendouree hosted the [[Rowing at the 1956 Summer Olympics|rowing]] and [[Canoeing at the 1956 Summer Olympics|canoeing]] events for the [[1956 Summer Olympics]].<ref>[http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1956/OR1956.pdf 1956 Summer Olympics official report.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080912181829/http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1956/OR1956.pdf |date=2008-09-12 }} p. 42.</ref>  An Olympic monument now marks the end of the course.

Apart from private [[Water well|bore water]] the lake quickly ceased being the city's private water supply with the introduction of new sources including the [[Gong Gong Reservoir]].

===2000s drought===
[[File:LakeWendouree Dry.jpg|thumb|left|A dry Lake Wendouree in 2006, due to the [[2000s Australian drought|Millennium Drought]]]]
[[File:Lake Wendouree - No Swimming IMG 0696.jpg|thumb|right|Swimming Is Not Recommended]]
The [[2000s Australian drought]] caused Lake Wendouree to dry up in 2006. Despite warnings by the local council and news publications, local enthusiasts combed below the surface of the dry lake bed for artifacts, including antique glass bottles.  The activities of a number of local organisations, including boating clubs, rowing clubs and recreational fishers, had to be suspended,<ref>{{cite news|last1=Gullifer|first1=Brendan|title=165,000 trout to be put in Lake Wendouree|url=http://www.thecourier.com.au/story/549829/165000-trout-to-be-put-in-lake-wendouree/|access-date=2018-03-08|work=Ballarat Courier|date=2010-10-27}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=March 2018}} and the dry lake had a large tourism impact on Ballarat.

During the summer of 2008–2009, [[Agrostis avenacea|fairy grass]] growing on the dried up lake bed caught fire multiple times.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2008/12/31/2457263.htm|title = Fire on Lake Wendouree - ABC (None) - Australian Broadcasting Corporation|website = [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2009-01-22/lake-wendouree-fire-deemed-suspicious/2597208|title=Lake Wendouree fire deemed suspicious|newspaper=ABC News|date=21 January 2009}}</ref>

Better than expected winter rainfall in 2010, as well as storm water and wetland works in 2008 and 2009, saw the lake again reach full capacity in 2011.

== Wildlife ==
[[File:Swans at Lake Wendouree, Ballarat.JPG|thumb|Black swans and other birds on Lake Wendouree]]
The reed beds and islands provide sanctuary for a variety of wildlife. Of the recorded 166 species, the most commonly seen waterbirds are [[black swan]]s, [[Pacific black duck]]s, [[dusky moorhen]]s, [[purple swamphen]]s, [[Eurasian coot]]s, [[musk duck]]s, [[great crested grebe]]s, [[silver gull]]s and [[little pied cormorant]]s. Information boards at the Fairyland Wetland Walk provide details about species and habitats.

About 100 [[rakali]] are scattered around the shore and are sometimes seen in Fairyland at dawn and dusk. The diversity of pondlife is rich and attracts numerous school groups making visits for environmental science field studies.

== Transport ==
{{see also|Trams in Ballarat}}
A vintage electric tramway operates along the western side of the lake. The volunteers of the [[Ballarat Tramway Museum]] have preserved fifteen trams and memorabilia from Ballarat's tramway era.  Attracting twenty thousand passengers each year, it is one of Ballarat's most popular tourist attractions. Double-decker horse-drawn [[tram]]s began carrying visitors to the [[Ballarat Botanical Gardens]] in 1887.

Paddlesteamers have used the lake in the past for both transport and as a tourist attraction and the most popular one, the Golden City has been restored for return to the lake, and does a tourist circuit each Sunday.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.goldencitypaddlesteamer.org.au/ |title=Home |website=goldencitypaddlesteamer.org.au}}</ref> [http://www.begoniaprincess.com.au The Begonia Princess] paddleboat returned to Lake Wendouree in 2012 after being  restored by the current owner and currently and is a popular attraction on the Lake.

== Recreation ==
[[Boating]] has long been an important sport and leisure activity on the lake and for many years local schools have held the "Head of the Lake" rowing regatta there.

The track around the lake provides an interesting 6&nbsp;km challenge to walking, [[cycling]] and running enthusiasts who complete the circuit in their thousands each week. For serious athletes, the record for running the 6&nbsp;km lap of the lake is 16 minutes and 10 seconds, set in 1992 by [[Marathon (sport)|Marathon]] Olympian [[Steve Moneghetti]]. <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecourier.com.au/story/2685115/you-know-youre-from-ballarat-whenyouve-walked-cycled-or-run-lake-wendouree/|title=You know you're from Ballarat when...You've walked, cycled or run Lake Wendouree|access-date=February 16, 2025|date=November 10, 2014|website=thecourier.com.au}}</ref> 

In recent years, it has been the venue for the annual Goldfields Festival and Springfest extravaganza.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.ballarat.com/ Ballarat Accommodation and Tourism Directory]
*[http://www.btm.org.au Ballarat Tramways website]
*[http://www.ballarat.vic.gov.au City of Ballarat]
*[http://www.chw.net.au Central Highlands Water]

{{Lakes of Victoria |state=collapsed}}
{{1956 Summer Olympic venues}}
{{Olympic venues canoeing}}
{{Olympic venues rowing}}
{{commons category|Lake Wendouree}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wendouree}}
[[Category:Venues of the 1956 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Olympic canoeing venues]]
[[Category:Olympic rowing venues]]
[[Category:Ballarat]]
[[Category:Lakes of Victoria (state)]]
[[Category:Canoeing and kayaking venues in Australia]]
[[Category:Reservoirs in Victoria (state)]]
[[Category:Artificial lakes of Australia]]